We're nonpartisan in these derbies, but sometimes we can't help rooting for the home team, particularly when the home boys could really use a victory. So we entertained hopes for the G6, the first American car to play in a comparison of this nature in five years. For example, we hoped the high-performance version of the Grand Am replacement would be more entertaining than its less potent stablemates, which haven't run up big numbers on the C/D ecstasy meter. In short, we hoped the G6 would make a good showing.

And it did. But not good enough.

Shall we start with the Poncho's strong suits? The G6 was mid- to upper-pack in all five major test categories covering acceleration, braking, and handling. Despite its relatively old-fashioned valve operation--GM calls it "cam in block," feeling perhaps that "pushrod" sounds dated--the Pontiac's 60-degree V-6 has variable valve timing and generates generous torque (240 pound-feet) with an exceptionally flat curve. This produced runs to 60 mph of 6.2 seconds and a quarter-mile of 14.9 seconds at 95 mph, third best in both categories and all the more remarkable for its tall gearing and a bewilderingly hefty curb weight--3569 pounds, heavier than even the all-wheel-drive Mazda.

Excessive mass undoubtedly affected the G6's braking, skidpad, and lane-change numbers, too, but even so, they were solid. The Pontiac hammered home the second-best lane-change speed, was a close third on the skidpad despite its all-season Goodyear Eagle LS-2 tires (on handsome 18-inch wheels), and stopped from 70 mph in 167 feet, better than the Acura and the Honda.

For all its prowess in objective dynamic testing, though, the G6 drew low subjective marks on the Hocking Hills highways. There were logbook complaints about excessive up-and-down motion compared with the other cars, and insufficient roll stiffness. Although quick at 2.7 turns lock-to-lock, the hydraulic steering came in for carping: too heavy at high speeds, as well as numb. It was possible to hustle the G6 around our loop as quickly as most of the others, but it was more work than fun, requiring absolute concentration.

There were unhappy observations concerning the interior as well. All hands cited major wind noise, an apparent leak in the upper right-hand A-pillar area--a little more tolerable than Chinese water torture during freeway cruising, but not much. And the shift quality of the six-speed gearbox was persistently panned. Rubbery, said some. Others employed a time-honored technical term: klunky.

So the G6 stacks up as merely adequate in a contest where better than average is the threshold of acceptability. The Pontiac would look more attractive with a price tag closer to the GTP's $24,835 base--ours was a loaded example--but the fundamental dissonance here lies with the car itself.